Aftermath
by Judge1964
Summary: After London, with Beck firmly in his head, Peter attempts to move on, grateful for Michelle's help.
1. Before the After

**What's this? A story that isn't How to Train your Dragon or Star Wars: Rebels? A story that takes place outside animation? It's the end of the world!**

**Spoilers for Spider Man: Far From Home and Avengers: Endgame. You have been warned. **

**Author commentary at the end. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_And I am Iron Man_

Peter tensed, closing his eyes as he focused on his Peter Tingle-or Spider Sense as MJ had dubbed it-hoping that a crime would be happening nearby. That _anything _would be happening nearby.

Anything to take his mind off of the end.

After that battle was over, he had rushed over to Mr Stark's body, the realization that his mentor was _dying _hitting him all at once. Then came the realization that Peter would be alone.

MJ squeezed his hand, and he smiled slightly, smile dropping as he saw the concerned look on his face.

In retrospect, maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to have told MJ who Peter really was during a class trip to Europe, but Beck had forced his hand. Or, Peter had forced Beck to force his hand to-

The pressure slowly increased, which Peter had learned meant this wasn't a time for sarcastic banter, or small kisses. Pressure increasing meant something had Michelle concerned.

_And I am Iron Man_

Peter closed his eyes again, trying desperately to shut out the memories. Next thing he knew, a voice sounded from his left ear.

"Are you okay?"

It wasn't a question, Peter knew Michelle knew he wasn't okay, but that she was asking to give him manoeuvring room. Because once she had found out about Spider-Man, all the other pieces fell into place.

Like Iron Man's death.

Peter forced his eyes open and looked at MJ. "No." He admitted, squeezing his eyes shut again.

* * *

Michelle didn't say anything, just leaned into Peter, her head pressed into the crook of his neck. It was a simple gesture, one of several that was designed to show him she cared. But now wasn't a time for kisses.

Really, she would have loved to help Peter more by _talking _about what was bothering him, but common sense dictated that they not talk about Spider-Man on a plane surrounded by their friends.

And she was _not _going to hurt Peter more by starting that conversation with Iron Man.

Mentally, she cursed Mysterio. Michelle knew that Peter had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the villain, a defeat that resulted in his new red and black suit. While Peter hadn't told her everything about that first confrontation, one snippet she had pried loose was that he had seen a zombified version of Iron Man.

That-moreso than anything else-had broken Peter Parker.

Michelle was smart enough to have picked up on Peter's odd habits before Homecoming. That something was off with the Loser.

The new Spider-Man suit coincided with Peter excitedly telling anyone who'd listen that he had gotten in to a 'Stark Internship'. Fast forward a few months, that new suit is gone for a few days, during which Peter was upset over having lost that Internship. Then both the suit and Internship-despite Peter never saying it-was back.

All that meant that Tony Stark-Iron Man-had built a new suit for Peter Parker. Which meant that they were close.

Which meant Peter's heart would have been stomped on when Stark died.

MJ's heart broke for him all over again, and she leaned closer. "I'm proud of you." She whispered. Comfort. That was what Peter needed. "I think he is too."

Peter's head moved ever-so-slightly to rest atop hers, and Michelle congratulated herself on helping. Then he spoke.

"I'm not him."

_Crap_

Michelle manoeuvred her arm around the airplane seat to rest across Peter's back. "Didn't you tell me he wanted you to be better?"

Peter's eyes finally opened and he looked at her. "I'm not."

MJ mentally narrowed her eyes in fury over what Mysterio had done to her boy. Of the dam he had burst open. The damage he had done.

She cursed him anew.

Before she could try and help, Flash walked by, wearing a grin that promised more trauma for Peter. "'Sup Penis Parker."

_And I am Iron Man_

Peter looked up at him, and Flash stared with wide eyes at the look on Parker's face. The red eyes, the tear tracks clearly visible on his cheeks. Michelle smirked as Flash simply walked back to his seat.

Quietly, she nudged her boy. "You're not Iron Man." She winced as he flinched ever so softly. "You're Spider-Man. The Amazing Spider-Man."

Peter shook his head, a small amount of sass returning. "_Spectacular _Spider-Man."

That got a smile out of Michelle. "_Fine_." She grinned, returning her head to his shoulder. "I'm here for you. Whenever you need me."

Soft lips pressed themselves to her hair, and Michelle felt her grin grow. It'd take a while, but he'd be alright.

They both would be.

* * *

**Chapter Notes!**

**I). This is a story, not a one-shot. The original idea was to start at _that _post credit scene, but I decided to have some fun. And angst. And Spideychelle (that ship name is really endearing) **

**II). I have a headcanon that Peter had to deal with still raw wounds after that zombie Iron Man moment. That _had _to hurt. Even more than we're shown. (Can you guess what the premiss of this story is?)**

**III). For those of you just joining us, Hi, my name is Judge. And up to this point, I've been writing for How to Train your Dragon and Star Wars. I joined FF because I didn't see a whole lot of fanfics out there that met my standards for love and angst in those fandoms. And that seems to translate to FFH. I know that the movie came out a few days ago, so no-one has had time to write, but that's never stopped me. So, this is my latest adventure. Should be interesting. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Judge**


	2. Voices

**Thanks to Dallas Hatfield, IanAlphaAxel, Ironknight3307, Solidspider, aa4607439 and australiangumtree for favouriting!**

**Thanks to ****Dallas Hatfield, IanAlphaAxel, Ironknight3307, Solidspider, aa4607439, SeregaKR, TheGamingTeam5 and australiangumtree for following!**

**Normally, I'd thank you guys for reviewing too, but it seems we are rather lacking in that department. Hopefully that will change. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Departure off the airplane was easy enough, and it gave Peter something to focus on. Even so, it was almost robotic. Kiss MJ goodbye, walk out to where May was waiting, get in the car, and be alone with his thoughts once again.

_And I am Iron Man_.

Peter struggled to keep his eyes centred on the pavement, endeavouring not to look at the murals of Iron Man visible from what seemed to be every rooftop.

His phone beeped, and Peter's hand flew to his pocket, grateful beyond words for the distraction. He smiled as he saw a text from MJ.

_Michelle 12:43: Do you want to do something later?_

_Peter 12:43: Sure! What did u have in mind?_

_Michelle 12:45: Don't know. Meet me at East 41st?_

_Peter 12:45: Sure!_

* * *

Michelle gave a small smile and closed her eyes, blocking out the sound of Flash's chatter. As annoying as the kid could be, he was her only option to get home.

And she was not about to ask Peter to swing her home.

Her phone buzzed, and Michelle smiled as she saw a text from Peter, smile slipping as she read the message.

_Peter 1:05: What if I took u on a trip around the city?_

Michelle frowned. She was down for spending time with Peter, but web slinging? She made up her mind as she recalled the look on his face during the flight.

_Michelle 1:07: Sure. See you there._

* * *

_Mr Stark, please, I don't want to go. I don't want to go!_

Peter gasped and opened his eyes, all his senses screaming at him. After a second or two, he was able to focus enough to tone down all the information. Then he closed his eyes, his head falling against the headrest of the seat.

_I'm sorry._

He could feel May's eyes on him, but he ignored it, opening his eyes and pulling out his phone, this time entering a number.

_Remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? I must have passed out because I woke up and you were gone but Dr Strange was there, right, he was like 'it's been five years, come on, they need us' and then he started to do the yellow sparkly thing he does all the time and-_

_"__Peter?"_

Peter held the phone up to his ear. "Hey, MJ."

_"__You okay?"_

"Yes." Peter sighed. "No."

_"__What's up?"_

At this point, May was keeping her eyes on the road, which gave Peter a sense of privacy. "I can't stop thinking about what happened."

There was silence for a second. _"About Mysterio?"_

Peter shook his head, knowing MJ couldn't see it. "About Thanos."

_"__Thanos?" _MJ's confusion was evident. _"Who's that?"_

Peter glanced at May. "He's the guy who killed us."

_"__Oh._ _He's the guy who killed Iron Man?"_

Peter closed his eyes. "Yes."

_If you were good enough, maybe Tony would still be alive._

_"__Look, why don't I come over for a while? We have an upcoming History test, we can study together? Maybe tomorrow?"_

Peter looked at May, who merely nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

"What year did the Sokov-" Too late, Michelle stopped reading the question and stared at Peter with wide eyes, mentally cursing herself.

That cursing only got stronger as she saw her boy close his eyes for a few seconds before opening them with a weak smile. "2016."

Michelle went to put a hand on his shoulder, but he moved away. "Peter…"

He shook his head. "I'm fine." Peter picked up his book and scanned for a question. "What was the cost of property damage in the Battle of New York?"

Michelle snorted. Why were history books filled with Avenger level events? "Approximately Eighty-eight billion."

Peter nodded and opened his mouth to speak, when he suddenly tilted his head, eyes narrowing. Then he stood.

Michelle stood too, getting off his bed. "What is it?" She grabbed Peter's shoulder and turned him towards her. "Is it your Spider-Sense?" There was silence as Peter presumably was listening, so Michelle decided to get his attention. "Hey, Tiger!"

Peter blushed and nodded, grabbing his suit from his closet. "Sounds like a robbery." Quickly, he whipped off his shirt, and Michelle nearly gasped at the scars there. Scars that hadn't been there last time he had changed in front of her.

Although he noticed her stare, Peter changed in silence, pressing a quick kiss onto Michelle's cheek before slipping his mask on. "Stay here." His lenses narrowed, and Michelle knew he was serious.

Knowing her presence could distract him, she nodded. "Be safe."

Peter nodded once and backflipped out the window, firing a web line as he did so. Michelle rushed to the window, grabbing a pair of binoculars that Peter kept in his room for…some reason.

Watching Spider-Man fight, even if the distance was only a few hundred meters, was breathtaking. Even more so because she knew it was Peter. The way he flipped about every few seconds or webbed his way from one end of the store to another in a second was amazing.

And his quips were nonstop. Michelle was stunned as she strained her ears to catch what he was saying. It was astounding that all traces of Peter Parker, the boy traumatized by everything he had seen in the past few weeks, vanished when Spider-Man came out.

* * *

Peter webbed one of the robbers into a wall and flipped over the second's head, webbing one of his feet to the floor. Reaching out with his senses, Peter relaxed, confident there were no more attackers. "You know, if you're going to rob stores, don't dress like a robber." He webbed the second's hand to the wall, immobilizing him. "It might give people the wrong idea."

_I mean, look at yourself_

Peter tensed and looked around, lenses narrowing. That voice was _so _real. "EDITH, scan for drones."

His first day back in New York, Peter had worked on interfacing EDITH with his suit and with Karen. That was paying off now. "No drones detected."

Peter shook his head and stared at the two robbers. "Karen, call the 110th Precent, tell them there's two robbers down by 26th and Bell."

_You're just a scared little kid_

Peter looked around again before shaking his head and heading back to his apartment.

_Now your friends have to die_

Peter gasped and rolled out of his swing, landing on one of the neighbouring buildings and initiated another search.

Nothing.

Peter took off his mask and cradled his head in his hands. "Get out of my head, Beck." He muttered.

_It's easy to fool people when they're already fooling themselves. _

Peter closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings, seeking anything odd. Maybe Beck fooled EDITH?

But there was still nothing.

Warily, Peter began to head back to Michelle, more focused than ever on his surroundings. Every car honk had him rescanning his surroundings, desperate to figure out what was going on.

_I think you don't know what's real, Peter_

Climbing through the window, he was shocked to find MJ gone. "EDITH, scan for drones."

"No drones detected."

_You need to _wake up!

"Peter?"

_Mysterio _is _the truth!_

"Peter, look at me."

A hand appeared on his shoulder, and Peter recoiled, opening his eyes to see MJ staring at him, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

_You are so gullible. Smart as a whip, just a sucker_

Peter backed away, staring at her. "Tell me something only you would know."

MJ's eyebrows drew together. "What?"

"Just do it." He begged. "_Please_."

"Okay, um…" MJ closed her eyes. "In fifth grade, you almost destroyed our science classroom by combining chemicals." She had a faint smile on her face. "You had detention for a solid month after that. I drew your picture."

Peter heaved a huge sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around MJ, squeezing tight. "Thank you."

They hugged for a long time before MJ pulled back, concerned. "What's going on?"

Peter closed all the windows and shut the drapes before answering. "I keep hearing Beck-Mysterio-accusing me of not knowing what's real. I don't." He admitted. "Not anymore." He shook his head. "I keep having EDITH scan for drones and have people tell me stuff only they would know."

MJ pulled him down to the bed to sit beside her. She tangled her hands in his hair, and Peter closed his eyes. It was extraordinarily relaxing. "Beck's gone." She whispered, pulling him close. "It will take time, but you'll get better."

_Now your friends have to die_

Peter opened his eyes and stared at her, eyes beginning to well up with tears. "What if I can't save you?"

MJ pulled him back into a hug, holding him close. "You will." She smiled. "I know you will."

* * *

**Chapter Notes!**

**I). I was...limiting myself by only using Tony's final words as a stress point for Peter, and have corrected that mistake. Again, spoilers for FFH. **

**II). Writing Michelle Jones is actually quite difficult, and I have no doubt I'm not doing justice to her character. Hopefully that is something that will improve as time goes on. **

**III). The entire premise of this story is a tramatised Peter dealing with fallout from Endgame and FFH. So you're going to be hearing quite a lot of Beck's taunts. (I truly enjoy mixing that into this)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Judge**


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